"Did you take the afternoon off?"
The middle-aged man was Zhuang Wen's father, named Zhuang Zhenghong.
"Yes, I took a short leave."
Zhuang Wen put the bag on the back seat of the car.
"You don't need to pick me up, I can go back by myself. You should focus on your work right now, taking time off will cost you money."
Zhuang Zhenghong sighed and got into the passenger seat. "After you take me home, you can go to work. Don't let it interfere with your work."
"It's okay, I've already talked to my boss. I've worked a lot of overtime before, so it can offset the overtime."
Zhuang Wen smiled and got into the driver's seat.
"Fine, whatever."
Zhuang Zhenghong said no more.
"Why did you bring so little luggage here?"
Zhuang Wen started the car and began chatting casually.
"You're only staying here for a few days, why bring so much luggage?"
Zhuang Zhenghong was even more carefree than Zhuang Wen, and he smiled and said casually.
"Why don't you stay here a few more days? What's the point of going home?"
Zhuang Wen frowned slightly, glanced at Zhuang Zhenghong, and noticed that he had a lot more white hair on his head, which made him feel a pang of sadness.
My father, who is not yet 60, has so much gray hair and looks very old.
He understood that his father was doing all this for him.
"It's no fun staying here any longer. I might as well go back and have a drink with my old buddies."
Zhuang Zhenghong, oblivious to Zhuang Wen's unusual behavior, continued speaking to himself:
"Don't worry about me. I'm doing very well at home. We've been neighbors and friends for decades. We all take care of each other, don't we? You know that."
"But you're in a big city, unfamiliar with the place and don't have many friends. Luckily, you're married, so you have someone to take care of you in life."
"After you get married, you need to take good care of your wife and her family. It's convenient since you live close by."
"..."
Zhuang Zhenghong talked a lot in the car.
For a father who has always been serious, saying these things is already quite incredible.
Zhuang Wen, in particular, felt this even more deeply.
So he nodded seriously in response, secretly determined to make sure his father would have a good life in the future.
I'm home.
Zhuang Wen wanted his father to stay in the master bedroom, but Zhuang Zhenghong refused, so he ended up staying in the second bedroom.
Zhuang Wen tidied up his room, while Zhuang Zhenghong came to the living room, first frowned and glanced around, then sighed before starting to tidy up.
"Dad, what are you doing? Stop working and take a break."
As soon as Zhuang Wenyi stepped out of the second bedroom, he saw Zhuang Zhenghong sweeping the floor and immediately gave a wry smile.
"You need to clean this place more often. Look, there's a layer of dust all over it."
Zhuang Zhenghong dodged Zhuang Wen's hand and continued sweeping. He glared at Zhuang Wen and said, "You need to clean properly so Xin Xin will be willing to come. Otherwise, she'll be annoyed just looking at this environment. Do you think she'll want to come? Don't expect her to help you clean either, after all, you're not married yet..."
Listening to his father, who was usually strict with him and would never be so nagging, start to chatter on and on, Zhuang Wen felt not annoyed but warmed up. This was his father.
"I'll be with you."
Zhuang Wen smiled and began to do a thorough cleaning of the house with his father.
An hour later.
The father and son sat on the sofa drinking tea.
"Call Xin Xin and ask her when she's coming back."
Zhuang Zhenghong took a sip of tea.
Zhuang Wen pursed his lips and remained silent.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with you two?"
Zhuang Zhenghong frowned as he looked at Zhuang Wen, his face serious and his voice low.
Zhuang Wen nodded and said, "Yes."
"What happened?"
Zhuang Zhenghong frowned deeply.
He didn't immediately lash out at Zhuang Wen. He knew his son's personality well and how much he loved Tang Xin; he knew his son wouldn't easily cause trouble.
Zhuang Wen sighed and recounted the whole story.
After listening, Zhuang Zhenghong fell silent.
His expression shifted between light and shadow, his eyes filled with an uncertain gloom, finally settling into a helpless sigh, "It's all my fault for being incompetent, otherwise you and her wouldn't have..."
Zhuang Wen quickly interrupted, "Dad, don't say such things. I've never looked down on you, and I'm proud to have you as my father..."
Zhuang Zhenghong then asked, "Can you and she reconcile?"
"cannot."
Zhuang Wen's expression was calm, and his voice was extremely flat, as if he were talking about a stranger.
He has completely let go of it.
Any information about her no longer stirred any emotion in him.
Zhuang Zhenghong, who knew his son perfectly well, immediately understood when he saw Zhuang Wen's coldness.
He swallowed the words, "If you still can't let her go, then go find her. I'll sell everything I own to help you two get back together."
Then, the two fell into a long silence.
Zhuang Zhenghong sighed, his voice bitter, "Then what am I doing here? I'll go back tomorrow."
Zhuang Wen quickly said, "Dad, there's something else I need to tell you."
Zhuang Zhenghong glanced at him and nodded, saying, "Go ahead and speak."
"Actually, I have another girlfriend."
Zhuang Wen pondered for a moment, his brain working rapidly to organize his words.
When did this happen?
Zhuang Zhenghong's expression remained unchanged.
"Just a while ago."
Zhuang Wen said vaguely.
"Then what?"
Zhuang Zhenghong knew his son's personality well and knew that he was not simply telling him that he was in a relationship.
"We got our marriage certificate."
Zhuang Wen glanced cautiously at Zhuang Zhenghong, then moved his buttocks a little further away from the sofa. He sensed something was wrong and prepared to run away immediately.
"What?!"
Zhuang Zhenghong frowned, his voice suddenly rising several octaves, revealing his shock. He roared, "Did you break up with Xin Xin because of her?!"
Zhuang Wen was taken aback, then quickly shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Dad, don't you understand your son?"
Zhuang Zhenghong sighed and said, "It's precisely because I know you so well that I'm puzzled by your breakup with Xin Xin and then getting a marriage certificate with someone else."
“Dad, I’m not lying. I met that woman through a friend’s introduction after I broke up with Tang Xin, and we got married. It’s definitely not what you think…”
It took Zhuang Wen a lot of persuasion to calm his father down.
"You're saying she's the president of your company?"
Zhuang Zhenghong frowned, somewhat worried.
Zhuang Wen understood what he was worried about; it was simply that they were not a good match.
"Dad, don't worry, I guarantee she's not at all like the spoiled rich girls we used to think she was. When I first met her, I didn't even know her background..."
Zhuang Wen comforted Zhuang Zhenghong.
But Zhuang Zhenghong couldn't so easily let go of his worries.
Finally, seeing that his father still didn't believe him, Zhuang Wen had no choice but to say, "I'm not lying to you. I've met her family and eaten at their house several times. Her family has been very kind to me, even kinder than Tang Xin's family, and they haven't looked down on us at all!"
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